1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to coin-operated vending machines and, more particularly, is concerned with a curvy slide delivery chute for employment in a machine for vending products.
2. Description of the Prior Art
One general type of product that is well-known and universally popular and thus desirable to be able to dispense from a vending machine is a lollipop. The lollipop typically has an elongated thin stick-like handle for gripping by a consumer and a piece of candy of spherical, round or similar shape mounted on one end of the handle and covered by a wrapper of paper or the like prior to the purchase of the product by a consumer. Because of its makeup, the lollipop is difficult to store in large quantities in a vending machine and still be able to reliably and effectively dispense one at. a time from the machine.
Vending machines of various constructions have been proposed in the prior art for dispensing a variety of products, such as gumballs. Some representative examples of these prior art vending machines are found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,077,254 to Goldfarb, U.S. Pat. No. 5,452,822 to Haymond, U.S. Pat. No. 5,782,378 to Hart et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,115 to Halliburton, U.S. Pat. No. 5,833,117 to Kovens et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,897,022 to Mann and U.S. Pat. No. 6,056,151 to Peery et al. Some of these vending machines employ chute structures that define tracks having spiral configurations, while others employ chute structures that define tracks having serpentine and zig-zag or Z-shaped configurations, along which products roll or slide due to gravity from an upper dispensing mechanism to a lower discharge location when the product can be removed by a consumer. While the chute structures of these prior art devices appear to be mostly satisfactory in use for the specific purpose for which they were designed such as to provide an excitement aspect to product movement along a discharge path, the configurations and arrangements of some of the chute structures would appear to allow some products to be thrown off their tracks and thus dislocated and not reach the lower discharge location where products can be removed by consumers.
Consequently, a need still exists for an innovation which will provide a solution to the aforementioned problem in the prior art without introducing any new problems in place thereof.
The present invention provides a curvy slide delivery chute designed to satisfy the aforementioned need. The curvy slide delivery chute of the present invention when employed in a machine for vending products provides improved guidance and control of downward movement of products on the delivery chute so as to reduce product dislocations but still retain an excitement aspect to the path of product movement which will attract the attention of consumers.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a curvy slide delivery chute for use in a machine for vending products. The delivery chute comprises: (a) an elongated body having a central hole formed therein; and (b) a pair of recessed channels formed in the body and provided in a wavy longitudinal configuration in the body on opposite sides of the central hole such that the channels are substantially mirror images of one another and protrude below a remainder of the body and extend from an upper end to an opposite lower end of the body such that a product can slide along either one of the channels in being transferred from the upper end to the lower end of the body. The delivery chute further comprises a pair of side rails each formed on the body and protruding thereabove along one of opposite outer sides of the recessed channels.
The present invention also is directed to a machine for vending products, comprising: (a) a freestanding housing having an upper portion and a lower portion and an intermediate opening therebetween; (b) a product discharge station disposed in the lower portion of the housing; (c) a magazine for storing and dispensing products being disposed in the upper portion of the housing; (d) a magazine indexing drive mechanism disposed in the housing below the magazine and being coupled to the magazine and operable to cause rotation of the magazine; (e) a product separation fixture disposed in the housing below the magazine and coacting therewith so as to cause dispensing the products from the magazine one at a time through the intermediate opening of the housing; (f) an elongated tubular support member disposed in the housing and extending between product discharge station and the intermediate opening of the housing; and (g) a curvy slide delivery chute disposed in the lower portion of the housing between the product discharge station and the intermediate opening of the housing, the delivery chute having a body installed at a relatively steep inclined angle relative to a horizontal reference plane, a central hole defined in the body, and a pair of channels formed in the body on opposite sides of the central hole so as to protrude below a remainder of the body and being of wavy configurations such that the dispensed products can slide downward from the intermediate opening to the product discharge station along either of the channels and past either side of the central hole in the body.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein there is shown and described an illustrative embodiment of the invention.